This page contains information on specific filing dates for each election year, how to become a candidate, how to create a political party, campaign finance requirements, state agency contacts involved in the election process, and term limits in New Mexico. Information on running for election as a presidential candidate or for county and municipal offices is not included.

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The 2014 filing deadline for statewide and federal partisan candidates seeking pre-primary convention designation was February 4, 2014 (for information on pre-primary convention designation, see "Process to become a candidate").[1][2] The filing deadline for partisan candidates running for other offices, and for those candidates who failed to achieve pre-primary convention designation but still seek it, was March 11, 2014.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag;
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refs with no content must have a name The deadline to create a new political party in time for the 2014 elections is April 1, 2014.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag;
refs with no content must have a name The filing deadline for independent and write-in candidates participating in the general election is June 24, 2014.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag;
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In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. A political party designation would be used when a candidate qualifies as an independent, but prefers to use a different label. New Mexico[4][5]does not allow candidates to identify in this way. A total of 25 states allow candidates to use political party designations in non-presidential elections.{{{Reference}}}

The 11 states listed below (and Washington, D.C.) do not provide a process for political organizations to gain qualified status in advance of an election. Instead, in these states, an aspirant party must first field candidates using party designations. If the candidate or candidates win the requisite votes, the organization may then be recognized as an official political party. In these states, a political party can be formed only if the candidate in the general election obtains a specific number of votes. The number of votes required and type of race vary from state to state. Details can be found on the state-specific requirements pages.[6]

Events

Green Party submits petition for ballot access

On June 26, 2014, the New Mexico Green Party submitted a petition to restore its recognized party status in the state. If the petition is found to be valid, New Mexico will have six recognized political parties.[7]

Constitution Party gains ballot access

2014 party ballot access

In March 2014, New Mexico GovernorSusana Martinez signed HB 368, which changes the state's ballot access requirements in three ways: (1) The deadline for a newly-qualifying party to submit a petition moves from April to late June; (2) Signatures on that petition are presumed valid and do not need individual checking; (3) The number of signatures for a separate petition, the nominee petition, are reduced from 1 percent of the last vote cast, to 1 percent of the last gubernatorial vote. That last change has no impact in presidential election years, although the new requirement is an approximately 25 percent reduction in the number of signatures in midterm years. For 2014, the nominee petitions for statewide office is 6,018 signatures. The bill took effect immediately.[9]

In December 2013, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that New Mexico's April deadline for new political parties to submit petitions was unconstitutionally early.[10] The plaintiff, the Constitution Party, while meeting the deadline to qualify for the 2012 election, filed the suit in 2012 and presented evidence showing that the April 2012 deadline forced the organization to spend $15,000 on paid petition circulators that otherwise would not have been spent with a later petition deadline. The decision declared that, prior to 1995, the petition deadline occurred in July, and the court found that the state did not put forward any evidence or argument to demonstrate how the July deadline caused election administrative problems.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag;
refs with no content must have a name Prior decisions by the U.S. District Court in 2013 upheld a March petition deadline in Alabama and a May petition deadline in North Carolina.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag;
refs with no content must have a name The case was a significant decision, in which the plaintiff won a ballot access lawsuit while the party succeeded in getting on the ballot in same year of filing the lawsuit.

Process to establish a political party

The code defines "minor political party" as "any qualified political party that is not qualified as a major political party."[11] A "major political party" is a qualified political party of whose candidates received at least 5 percent of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for the office of governor or President, and whose membership totals not less than 0.33 percent of registered voters in New Mexico on the day of the governor's primary election proclamation.[12]

Qualifications for a new political party

To qualify as a political party, each political party through its governing body must adopt rules providing for the organization and government of that party and must file rules with the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office.[13]

Uniform rules must be adopted throughout the state by the county organizations of that party, where county organization exists, and must be filed with the county clerks. At the same time the rules are filed with the secretary of state's office, the governing body of the political party must file with the secretary of state's office a petition containing the hand-printed names, signatures, addresses of registration and counties of residence of at least 0.5 percent of the total votes cast for governor (based on the 2010 elections, 3,009 signatures) at the preceding general election who declare by their signatures on the petition that they are voters of New Mexico and that they desire the party to be a qualified political party in the state.

Each political party shall file its rules and regulations within 30 days after its organization and no later than the first Tuesday in April before any election in which it is authorized to participate.[14]

Political parties filing rules and regulations with the county clerk shall pay the standard filing fee, which is $50.[15][16]

Political party rules and regulations filed are subject to amendment only in the manner provided for in such rules and regulations. No amendments shall be made less than 120 days prior to any general election, nor shall any amendment be effective until 30 days after being filed. Amendments shall be filed in the same manner as original party rules and regulations are filed.[17]

Retaining status

A qualified political party will lose its "qualified" status if two successive general elections occur without at least one of the party's candidates on the ballot in a general election for governor or president do not equal at least 0.5 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor or president.[18]

By-law and convention requirements

There are no specific requirements or restrictions on how a minor political party writes its by-laws or holds a convention, but there are requirements for the party's rules and regulations.[19]

A political party must include in its rules and regulations the following:

A method for nominating candidates for the general election

A method for calling and conducting conventions;

A method for selection of delegates to conventions;

A method for selection of state central committee members, a state chairman and other party officers, and all other members of governing bodies of the party;

A method of filling vacancies in party offices, committees and other governing bodies;

The powers and duties of party officers, committees, and other governing bodies;

For the structure of the state and county party organizations;

That meetings to elect any party officers, including delegates, shall be held at a public place during the week specifed by the state party chairman;

That notice of such meetings shall be published by the officers of the county party organization in a newspaper of general circulation at least 14 days prior to the meeting and the notice shall specify time, date, and place for the meeting.

Requirements after the nomination of candidates

A minor political party can nominate by convention or another method, depending on the party's rules and regulations. The code does not state explicitly whether a minor political party can hold a primary election, but that the party may choose "other methods" to nominate candidates.[20]

If a minor political party chooses a method other than a convention, the state chairman and the governing board of the state party must certify to the secretary of state the names of their party's nominees for statewide and state legislative offices. The county chairman and governing board of the county party must certify to county clerks the names of the party's nominees for county-level and local offices.[21]

After the nomination of candidates, there are several other statutory requirements:

The chair and secretary of the state political convention shall certify to the secretary of state's office the names of their party's nominees for U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative, all elective state offices, legislative offices selected from multi-county districts, the public regulation commission, all elective judicial officers in the judicial department and all offices representing a district composed of more than one county.

The names certified to the secretary of state shall be filed on the 21st day following the primary election in the year of the general election and shall be accompanied by a petition containing a list of signatures and addresses of voters totaling not less than 1 percent of the total number of votes cast at the preceding general election for the office of governor or president, as the case may be.

The petition shall contain a statement that the voters signing the petition are residents of the state, district, county or area to be represented by the office for which the person being nominated is a candidate.

Process to become a candidate

A candidate in New Mexico may run with an officially recognized political party, as an independent or as a write-in.

For major party candidates

Figure 1: This is the Nominating Petition for the 2014 elections in New Mexico.

A major party candidate files for office by submitting a Declaration of Candidacy form and nominating petition to the proper filing office. A candidate must file the nominating petition at the time of filing the declarations of candidacy. This paperwork must be filed in person by the candidate between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the designated day for filing. The candidate must be affiliated with the political party with which he or she is running. Affiliation with that political party must be made before the date of the governor's proclamation for the primary election.[22]

A candidate may seek a "pre-primary convention designation" before the primary election. A pre-primary convention designation guarantees a candidate a place on the primary election ballot. Every candidate receiving 20 percent or more of the vote of the duly elected delegates to the convention for the office to be voted upon in the primary will be certified to the New Mexico Secretary of State as a convention designated nominee for that office by the political party.[23]

The nominating petition for a pre-primary designation candidate must be signed by a number of voters equal to at least 2 percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, or the following number of voters, whichever is greater. For statewide offices, the requirement is 230 voters and for congressional candidates, the requirement is 77 voters.[24]

For candidates that do not seek a pre-primary convention designation, the nominating petition must contain at least 3 percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the district or division in which the candidate seeks election.

For informational purposes, the table below provides two examples of signature requirements in a state house district.

Number of required signatures

State House District 1

State House District 5

Republican primary

112 registered Republicans

24 registered Republicans

Democratic primary

19 registered Democrats

78 registered Democrats

A candidate who seeks but fails to receive a pre-primary convention designation may collect additional signatures to total at least 4 percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, whichever applies to the office the candidate seeks. Such a candidate is required to file a new Declaration of Candidacy and the additional nominating petition for the office for which the candidate failed to receive a pre-primary designation. The post-convention Declaration of Candidacy and nominating petition must be filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State either 10 days following the date of the pre-primary convention at which the candidate failed to receive the designation, or on the date all Declarations of Candidacy and additional nominating petitions are due, whichever is later.[25]

For minor party candidates

The selection method for minor party candidates varies according to the rules of the specific party. Broadly speaking, the following requirements apply:[26]

The chair and secretary of the state political convention must certify to the New Mexico Secretary of State the names of their party's nominees for federal, statewide, and state legislative offices.[27]

The names certified to the New Mexico Secretary of State must be filed on the 21st day following the primary election in the year of the general election and must be accompanied by a petition containing a list of signatures and addresses of voters totaling not less than 1 percent of the total number of the votes cast at the last preceding general election for the office of governor.[28]

The petition must contain a statement that the voters signing the petition are residents of New Mexico, the district, county or area to be represented by the office sought.[29]

For independent candidates

An independent candidate files for office by submitting a Declaration of Candidacy form and nominating petition to the proper filing office. Candidates must file nominating petitions at the time of filing their declarations of candidacy.[30]

The petition for an independent candidate for U.S. Senate or any other statewide office must be signed by no less than 3 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the previous general election. The petition for an independent candidate for U.S. House must be signed by no less than 3 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the previous general election in that particular congressional district. The petition for an independent candidate for the state legislature must be signed by no less than 3 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the respective legislative district.[31][32][33]

All requisite paperwork must be filed with the proper filing officer before 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-first day following the primary election.[34]

For write-in candidates in the primary election

A write-in candidate may only seek the nomination of the party with which he or she is affiliated. The candidate must qualify to be a candidate for the political party whose nomination he or she seeks.[35]

The candidate must file with the proper filing officer a Declaration of Intent to be a write-in candidate. The declaration must be filed before 5:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday in March.[36]

No unopposed write-in candidate can have an election certified unless the number of votes received by the candidate at least equals the number of signatures he or she would have had to acquire on a nominating petition.[37]

For write-in candidates in the general election

A write-in candidate in a general election must file a Declaration of Intent to be a write-in candidate with the proper filing officer no later than the 21st day after the primary election.[38]

No person can run as a write-in candidate in the general election if he or she was a candidate in the primary election immediately prior to the general election.[39]

No unopposed write-in candidate can have an election certified unless the candidate receives votes equal to at least 2 percent of the total vote cast in the electoral district for governor in the last preceding general election in which a governor was elected.[40]

Petition requirements

In some cases, political parties and/or candidates may need to obtain signatures via the petition process with relation to ballot access. This section outlines the laws and regulations pertaining to petitions and circulators.

Objections

In New Mexico, within 10 days after the filing of the Declaration of Candidacy and nominating petitions with the filing officer, any voter may file a court challenge. The district court is required to hear the matter within 10 days after it is filed by the voter. Any notice of appeal must be filed with the state Supreme Court within five days after the decision of the district court. The state Supreme Court shall issue a ruling "forthwith."[41][42]
The grounds for which petition signatures may be challenged include the following. The voter signing the petition must be shown to:

Not be a registered member of the candidate's political party 10 days prior to the filing of the nominating petition.

Failed to provide information required by the nominating petition.

Is not a voter of the state, district, county or area to be represented by the office for which the person seeking the nomination is a candidate;

Has signed more than one petition for the same office where only one candidate is to be elected for such office (if more than one candidate is to be elected to an office, the voter may sign only the number of nominating petitions equal to the number of candidates to be elected to that office

Is not of the same political party as the candidate named in the nominating petition as shown by the signer's certificate of registration; or

Is not the person whose name appears on the nominating petition.

To avoid risking disqualification through failure to file a sufficient number of qualifying signatures, the candidate and/or his or her agents may wish to consult voting lists in order to verify that the petitions contain qualified signatures. Additionally, candidates may wish to collect more signatures in order to avoid ballot disqualification if the signatures are rejected by a district court.

Campaign finance

A candidate for state-level office must register with the New Mexico Secretary of State upon: 1.) raising or spending $1,000 or more for a non-statewide race; 2.) raising or spending $2,500 or more for a statewide race; 3.) or at the time of filing a declaration of candidacy, whichever occurs earlier.[43]

Statutory requirements

A treasurer must be appointed and constantly maintained. A candidate may also serve as the candidate's own treasurer. All disbursements of money and receipts of contributions must be authorized by the candidate or treasurer. A separate bank account must be established and all receipts of money contributions and all expenditures of money must be deposited in and disbursed from this account. The treasurer, upon disbursing or receiving money or other things of value, must immediately enter and thereafter keep a proper record of such transactions.[44]

No anonymous contributions may be accepted in excess of $100. The aggregate amount of anonymous contributions received by a candidate during a primary or general election cannot exceed $2,000 for statewide races or $500 for all other races.[45]

It is unlawful during the prohibited period for a state legislator or a candidate for state legislator, or any agent on behalf of either, to knowingly solicit a contribution for a political purpose. "Prohibited period" means the period beginning January 1 prior to any regular session of the state legislature and ending on adjournment of the regular or special session.[46]

Reporting requirements

the name and address of the person or entity to whom an expenditure was made or from whom a contribution was received, except as provided for anonymous contributions

the occupation or type of business of any person or entity making contributions of $250 or more in the aggregate per election

the amount of the expenditure or contribution or value thereof

the purpose of the expenditure

the date the expenditure was made or the contribution was received

Each report must contain an opening and closing cash balance for the bank account maintained by the reporting individual during the reporting period and the name of the financial institution. Each report must specify the amount of each unpaid debt and the identity of the person to whom the debt is owed.

Contribution limits

The following contributions by the following persons are prohibited:

A candidate for non-statewide office, including the candidate's campaign committee, cannot receive from a person an amount that will cause that person's total contributions to the candidate to exceed $2,300 during the primary election or $2,400 during the general election.

A candidate for statewide office, including the candidate's campaign committee, cannot receive contributions from a person in an amount that will cause that person's total contributions to the candidate to exceed $5,000 during the primary election or $5,200 during the general election.

A candidate for any office cannot receive from a political committee an amount that would exceed $5,000 during the primary election or $5,200 during the general election.[48]

Public inspection of reports

A report of expenditures and contributions filed by a candidate's committee is a public record open to public inspection during regular office hours in the office in which the document was filed.[49]